FF (Vol. 2) #12

Mind Mischief

Scott Lang is having a nightmare where the children of the Future Foundation are tiny ants and he is a giant. When they are threatened by Doctor Doom, Ant-Man tries to crush him, but crushes his daughter -- Stature -- instead. Suddenly, Stature turns into Valeria Richards. As he is accused of being a murderer, Lang wakes up from his nightmare with a scream. This brings Darla Deering into his room, who tries to comfort him. Elsewhere in the Baxter Building, Julius Caeser is having breakfast with Maximus the Mad. There they two conquerors brag about past conquests. Julius then convinces Maximus that they need to focus on defeating Doctor Doom, instead of the original task that Maximus was freed to do: kill Old John Storm.

This conversation is being witnessed by Doctor Doom, Kid Immortus, Ravonna, and Annihilus. Kid Immortus mocks Doom for failing to get Alex Power to kill John Storm, but Doom insists that his orders were merely a moment of whimsy. He reminds them all that their victory all hinges on Doctor Doom.

Meanwhile, the children of the Future Foundation are trying to help their newest student, Adolf Impossible, fit in with the rest. When nothing seems to interest Adolf, one of the Moloids suggests they read comic books. Elsewhere, Ant-Man is informed by Dragon Man that Julius Caesar is working with Maximus in his lab. Turg tries to warn Scott about something, but he is so concerned about Maximus being loose that he ignores the small Moloid. In the lab, Scott and Medusa find that Julius, Maximus and Old John Storm are all working together on a portal. Caesar assures Scott that Maximus is helping them out. In the bathroom, Alex Power is reporting into Doctor Doom, who orders him to steal the plans for the portal and then kill John Storm. At that moment on the roof, the portal is being constructed. As Scott explains to Darla what is happening, the two almost kiss, but Scott accidentally spills coffee on his leg causing Darla to storm off in frustration. Turg soon arrives trying to tell Scott what he knows.

Downstairs, Adolf Impossible has finished reading an old Fantastic Four comic and denies the implication that his father is a super-villain. The other children point out that the Impossible Man's color scheme follows that of villains, while heroes typically wear bright primary colors. When the children continue to insist that the Impossible Man is a villain, Adolf begins to chase them across the building. In the training room, Dragon Man has Darla and She-Hulk in the ring to test out new modifications that he has made on the Thing exoskeleton. However, when they ask why Darla can't spar with a HERBIE unit, Dragon Man upsets them by saying this would be more fun. Adolf soon runs into the entertainment room where he comes across Luna watching television. Entranced by the Shojo Anime, Adolf sits down and watches with her. The two then become fast friends.

Above, the portal is complete and the Fantastic Four and their allies are gathered to activate it. They hope that it will allow them to bring back the original team from time and space. They are also being watched by Doom and his allies who fear this might lead to Doom's defeat. However, instead of bringing back the original Fantastic Four, the portal causes the replacement team, the Future Foundation, and their allies to suddenly disappear.

Recurring Characters

Fantastic Four (Ant-Man, Medusa, She-Hulk, Miss Thing), Future Foundation (Alex Power, Dragon Man, Bentley-23, Leech, Artie Maddicks, Onome, Ahura, Luna, Turg, Tong, Korr, Mik, Vil, Wu, Adolf Impossible), Julius Caeser, Old John Storm, HERBIE, Maximus, Doctor Doom, Annihilus, Kid Immortus, Ravonna